Little Orphan Annie?
by monkeygirl77
Summary: Gabriel had only meant to be passing through, but when he catches wind of someone who doesn’t believe in angels, well, call him a curious kitten. What he finds might just come as a surprise, he may make a new friend, and once again Gabriel proves to no one that he is somehow great with children.
1. chapter 1

**So this was a request for Star (guest) sorry it took so long! Hope you like it! LOL!**

 **...**

"There is no such thing. Angels don't exist. Just a story told by the Man to scare little boys and girls into being good and doing nice things."

The teenager turned their hands over the burning barrel to warm the other side in the snowy cold of the city. It was also something that stopped a certain brown haired whiskey eye'd man in his tracks, on his way to his next excursion of punishing the slum of the earth.

An elderly man looked up at the young woman beside him, "Why you say that doll?"

She shrugged, "Because there's proof all around us. Supposedly they're supposed to help us, protect us, if that be the case then how come you and me got this fancy place as our only real home? How come people still die? Have cancer? Clearly, there is no such thing as these so called miracle workers from above."

New target set, he diverted his path into the one of the mom and pop donut shops on the other corner, line of sight to his latest victim was clear and nothing made it impossible to see should they decide to leave before he finished his cup of cocoa and hot gooey donut.

He watches and waits until the sun begins to set and the air around them begins to chill in the big city.

She bids goodnight to her friend at the barrel and hooks the straps of her rucksack backpack over her shoulders and heads off. He pays for his donut and cocoa and tosses a few extra bills on the table as a tip and makes to follow.

They walk three blocks, and his eyes narrow slightly at how well she knicks off of people as she passes them, stealing wallet and such from back pockets and purses. Somewhere in this city, he remembers setting up a safe house, but can't remember ever using it, more then possibly for a night.

She turns down a street and for a moment it draws him to confusion.

This is't exactly a part of town that someone of her size and her build should be wandering at this time of day. But people ignore her, good and bad alike, she falls between the cracks and is just silent and well stepped enough that her passing goes unnoticed.

He knows this house, the one that they stand behind, he knows it but can't place from where just yet. Something about it is familiar to him. He _knows_ it.

But shakes it off when she climbs under the chain link fence and up the back fire escape to the balcony of the master bedroom. He follows just as well, silently and unseen by her eyes when she turns to make sure she's not being followed.

He snorts softly at that.

As soon as they step into the master bedroom, two things happen, he finally recognizes this as the safe house he had in this city, the safe house that he recognizes because this is the one where he hid his _horn_ , and second, he makes his presence known at long last.

"Well well _well_ , the nonbeliever just broke into my house?"

All at once she spins around, takes sight of him standing there with his hands on his hips, and her eyes go wide when he steps forward.

She backs away from him, arms up, hands tightly fisted ready to attack as he backs her into the room. He doesn't look all too worried about being attacked by the likes of her, skinny and small, and somewhere deep in her mind she feels just a tad bit offended.

There's a punch in her little fist.

She's small for her age.

But she can hold her own.

Trying to throw him off or at least catch him off guard she throws her backpack rucksack at him, the man catches it and sets it to the side, her jean jacket too once it follows. Honestly neither are sure exactly what she was trying to achieve in throwing that.

The shoe _almost_ catches him in the face though.

Its twin _does._

The man stops for a moment to feel at his nose, secretly she hopes its broken, and he gives her a slightly impressed but more so annoyed look.

"Did you just throw your shoe at my face?"

She watches as he drops them both to the ground, lets go of his sore nose and jaw, and starts advancing again.

"Oohhh big mistake little missy."

There's nothing left for her to throw and she's running out of options quick.

"You don't believe anymore? Wow kiddo, that hurts, cuts deep. What did we ever do to you?"

He's, admittedly, caught by surprise when the girl _jumps_ at him, and his bright whiskey eyes widen considerably as he almost misses catching her. But he does, with more ease then either would like to admit, and lugs her back around.

"Now you're trying to jump me? Oh now you're just asking for it kid."

She put up a surprising fight, trying to punch out at him, and he dodged with practiced ease. It only came about by accident, as she squirmed and he almost dropped her, his fingers dug harshly into her ribs when he felt his grip falter for just a moment.

And she shrieked softly, arms curling up at her sides instinctively, he slowly grinned up at her.

"No way! Oh this is too good kiddo! _Too_ good!"

He got a glare from the kid and he dug his fingers in again, smirking slightly, she shrieked again and a soft almost unnoticable giggle escaped her.

She glared at him again, "Stop it."

"Oh wow, I'm so scared, you've clearly threatened my into submission. Whatever shall I do against little you?"

He went silent at the resounding slap, her hand stinging and his face slowly turning red with the imprint of her hand, his head had whipped around at the force and slowly he turned back to look at her, eyes narrowed.

"Okay kid. Now you're dead. You and me, we're gonna have a chat, you're gonne be taught some manners kid."

She yelped as she was dropped on the bed and for a moment she feared the worst. She'd never been in this predicament before and wondered how badly it was really going to hurt. She hoped he was fast. He made a face of disgust, and in her final act of a means to escape, caught her socked foot when she tried to kick him.

"First you throw your show at my money maker, and now you're trying to kick it?"

He eyed her foot slightly and raised an eyebrow at the hole in her sock, "Bit holy there?"

She rolled her eyes as he snorted, not getting the full reference to his play on words there, and not finding the joke to be all that funny. He narrowed his eyes at her from her lack of response to his joke.

"You break into my house, throw your shoes at my face, and won't laugh at my jokes?"

He dug his free hand into her foot, watching as she shrieked and fell back again, busting out into bright sounding laughter, "Kid when I tell you a joke you best damned laugh at it!"

His fingers wandered up to her toes and she tugged at her foot, trying, and failing, to pull it free.

"Or I'll make you laugh at them! Easy way or the hard way!"

She kicked at him with her other foot and he caught that too, "Oh this one want some lovin too? Okay kiddo. We can make that happen."

"Let me go!", the girl was able to bite out between fits of laughter.

"Oh she can speak?"

"Fuck you!"

"No", he dug into her toes again and she laughed harder falling back onto the soft blankets behind her, "Bad language. No. Little girls shouldn't talk like that."

"Stop! Stop! Not there! Not the toes!"

For some reason, unbeknownst to her exactly why, but being around this man even though she didn't even know his name she felt _safe_. It was like she knew he didn't want to hurt her even when at the same time she wasn't sure. She'd never felt this way around anyone else before, not even dad, and didn't know what made this weirdo so different.

He grinned at her and stopped for a second, "Not the toes? Why not?"

"Because I said so!"

He hummed and seemed to think about it, "You know what? I don't think you're in any place to be making demands seeing as it's _my_ house you broke into.", and dug back into her toes. She shrieked and fell into another fit of uproarous giggles. She howled with laughter when he finally took mercy on her toes and moved down to her soles, digging a finger into the hole in her left sock.

"Hole in one!"

Nothing, and he growled, and she screamed when he dropped her feet and grabbed at her sides, kneading the flesh through her t-shirt.

"What did I _just_ say about my jokes?"

"I'm laughing! I'm laughing! Asshole!"

"And the language? Do you want me to pay more attention to those toes of yours?"

She shook her head quickly, "No! No! I'll watch my language! I'll watch it! Please!"

"Please whaaa _aaa_ tt?"

He grinned at her when she glared and jumped when he found a good spot right above her right hip bone.

"Please don't."

"Please don't leave my toes alone? Okay."

She screamed and kicked when he reached back, one hand grabbing her ankle, and the other going to town on her toes again. Her free foot got aweful close.

"Kid, I'm gonna warn you once. You kick me in the face and the sock comes off."

He was just savoring the moment now, digging fingers into the hole in her sock anyway and attacking her toes again, enjoying how her laughter went up in volume and quantity. Her toes definitely a kill zone.

But he did have a mission.

Someone didn't believe in angels, and he, being who he was needed to reassert that belief. That faith. It was his Dad given duty and all that jazz, blah, blah, _blah._

"Oh ho ho, I think I found a sweet spot!"

The girl shrieked and fell into a fit of giggles when a single finger scratched at the spot right under her belly button, she sucked in her belly desparately trying to get out from under it, but it did her no good he wasn't inhibited by her attempts. He grinned at her teasingly and looked down lifting the bottom of her shirt up just an inch, enough that he could get to that single sweet spot without anything in his way.

"Oh this is even better isn't it?"

He clawed at her belly suddenly and she screamed, bucking slightly, and fell into another fit of bright laughter.

"So, you little missy, think that angels aren't real? Huh. Well.", She kicked at him trying to push him off but he caught her leg, "Did you just try and kick me?"

She growled and struggled to pull her foot free, "Good thing we took off those shoes of yours isn't it? That would have hurt."

"Let me go you pervert!"

This was all too surreal for her, normally people avoided her and her kind like the plague, because being a homeless kid was clearly a life choice that she'd so willingly made and must suffer the conseqences of such a thing too as if life wasn't already a pile of steaming dog crap.

Having this one person who took such an interest, and one of what seemed like good standing, was clearly amess. Something was wrong with him and she was sure of it, he was clearly not right, or a pervert in the head.

"Now I'm a pervert too?", he sucked in a huff, "Well you little girl are just asking for it now. And you want your little footsie to get some attention who am I to deny your request."

He picked at her toes making her squeal in bright giggles.

"I think we should exchange some names here sweet heart, here we are having such a grand time, and I don't even know who you are."

She tugged at her captured foot ignoring his words in favor of freeing herself.

"Well, I'll go first then, my names Gabriel."

Her giggles ceased when his fingers stilled and she breathed in deeply, "Ga-Gabriel?"

"Yep. First name no last, what's your's little buddy?"

She licked her lips, "Ry-Ryan. Ryan. My names Ryan."

"Well, Ry, can I call you Ry?, I'm gonna call you Ry. I have a bit of an issue of Identity going on here. You told my buddy Joshua that you don't believe in angels, is that right?"

She nodded her head, trying to appease Gabriel, perhaps if she did as asked and answered how she thought he wanted her to answer he'd let her go and she'd be safe as could be, well, as she could be considering her life style.

She squealed, her hands flying up to his head, tangling into his surprisingly soft locks. Gabriel of course knew what she was doing and wanted no part in being appeased, and let her know as such with an unwarned attack of raspberries to his new favorite sweet spot, and all over her defenseless belly. Ryan drummed her socked feet into the bed underneath her and pushed and pulled at his head and hair.

"Don't play me kid. I don't like being played. Let's try this again."

Ryan nodded when he sat up, still giggling softly to the residual tingles in her belly. Gabriel smiled down at her and reached up to brush hair from his eyes.

"You've got a strong grip on you girl! You don't have to try and pull my hair out. Gosh. So tell me,", He leaned down, over her belly again, and rested on the palms of his hands, "What's this about you not believing in the, how did you say it?, _'miracle workers from above'_?"

"Yes."

"Yes what? Yes that's what you said? Yes thats what you meant? Yes you don't believe in them? Yes what kiddo?"

Ryan licked her lips and twisted slightly, noticing when Gabriel lifted away slightly to allow her to adjust into a more comfortable position. His eyes were like nothing she'd ever seen before, beautiful and breathtaking in a way that she couldn't give a name to, swirling like a liquified gold, glowing in color.

"Be-because they didn't do anything."

"Didn't do anything?"

He had the feeling that this was about to turn into something deeper then what he had originally thought.

"They didn't do anything to help. She begged and begged and believed harder then anyone I know and they didn't do anything."

"What happened, sweet heart?"

Ryan went silent for a moment at the question, not so much at the question being asked, but more so to the fond pet name at the end. She couldn't recall ever being called that before and somewhere deep down she felt some sort of fuzzy feeling at being called it now.

It felt good to be called something only reserved for someone special.

"She got sick. Really sick. And dad got upset and left so it was just us. He said he was tired of it. And she prayed everyday. Prayed to the so called angels to help us. Then she died. Dad already moved on, had another wife, another family, and I wasn't going to go to a shelter or a home."

Welp.

That was a good reason for someone to lose their faith if he ever heard one. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could recall hearing his brothers mention someone long long ago, a young mother, sick without the hope of getting better.

They'd watched.

But even with their help and intervention there was sometimes nothing to be done.

It was one of the curses of being human.

When it was time for them to die, they died, with the only exception of Father himself stepping in.

"You know sweety, sometimes there is nothing that they can do, though it's never for lack of trying. Your momma's prayers were heard and answered to best of their ability. It does them no satisfaction when someone loses someone they love."

Ryan went still and silent, she'd never specifically said that the 'she' in her confession was her momma. She hadn't wanted to relive those memories. Relive having to see her momma laying in the hospital bed pale and lifeless, the beeping of the machines, and her eyes watered.

"Hey hey hey, don't cry, it's okay."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and flipped them over, she tumbled around onto his stomach, crying softly as she did at the overwhelming feeling of _loss_. Ryan had been alone for as long as she could remember, dad didn't want her, momma was gone, she didn't have any other family for herself.

The last time she'd cried was when CPS had tried to take her from her dying mother's bedside in the hospital.

She hadn't stopped running since.

At only 16 years of age she was still technically a ward of the state. A runaway.

Ryan curled into him, some once thought lost childlike instinct for protection and comfort rearing its head at them all. She felt someone, most likely Gabriel, pull her knit beanie cap off and fingers run through her short soft dark hair. They laid like that for a long while into the evening, Ryan sobbing into his stomach and he just laying there silently, letting her, petting her head softly.

He had eons experience as an older sibling, with thousands of younger brothers and sisters, he knew when words were needed and when the mere presence of another was best.

"Your momma loved you something fierce kiddo, you were the greatest thing she ever had, she still loves you with everything she has, even now. She's never far away, always watching over you.", he brushed his fingers through her silkly dark hair, "But seeing you now, do you think she'd be proud to see how make your living?"

Gabriel almost forgot how to scold people, and though this wasn't the time, his inner 'Archangel of Judgement' was shining on through even now. He knew how this kiddo lived, her history, her reports with law enforcement. She had a rap sheet a mile long for burglery and loitering.

Ryan shook her head and turned slightly laying on his stomach instead of buried in it. She'd been scolded before, when she was very young, and had been on her own since the age of 6. His fingers were still running through her hair and at least that was comforting.

"No, you don't think so? So you know she wouldn't approve of your rap sheet?"

"Sh-She'd hate me!"

His hand stilled a moment and she closed her eyes for the worst, "Hey, no, look at me kiddo," he tilted her head up slightly, "She loved you, she's always going to love you, she may not approve it, but she'd never stop loving you."

She turned away when the hand started moving again, and they fell into silence again, evening turned to night when she finally moved to stand. She had to get back to her place, her abode, her cave, her 'home'.

Her movements were pulled to a sudden halt when his hand moved from her head to snatch her still by the back of her hood.

"Not so fast, you have a place to stay?"

"Yea."

"Somewhere safe."

Gabriel looked down at her, watching her expressions, their eyes locked together. He knew she was lying even when she nodded. His eyes narrowed.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lyin!"

"Yes you are."

"How would you know?"

He smirked, "I'm an angel kid, Archangel Gabriel at your service, sorry but can't lie to an Archangel."

She stilled, Ryan's heart beat quickly, and she tried to scramble away from the sick phsyco she'd just spilled her life story to in a moment of weakness. This guy was crazy, off his rocker, if he was an Archangel then she was a Saint.

 _'Saint Ryan'_ , the thought of it made her snort softly to herself.

"Get away from me sicko! Let me go! Get off me!"

Gabriel heaved another sigh, "Can we please not get back to this part? I thought we were having a break through kiddo."

Ryan struggled, but seeing as Gabriel really was who he said he was, and Ryan was only a 16 year old homeless orphaned kid, well she didn't get very far. He caught her foot again when she tried to kick him in the face. He gave her an unimpressed look.

"Kid I'm getting slightly tired of you trying to kick me in the face. I'm this close to showing you what I do to people who try and kick me in the face over and over again."

"Get _away_ from me!"

She froze in shock, slight horror, but mostly shock when he began to glow. Literally. He was glowing. And behind him, on the wall, attached to his back she saw the outlines of six large wings curling slightly in movement with his chest as he breathed.

"Oh my _God._ "

"Hey now, don't bring my Dad into this, more like _'Oh Great and Mighty Archangel Gabriel'_ but hey I'll let it slide."

"You're-You're-You're-"

"Ry? Earth to Ry? Come back to me kiddo!"

She was in shock, still trying to back away, crad walk away from this, this _thing_ cause there was no way that he was an Archangel. He dug his thumb into the arch of her still captured foot and she fell back, a small shriek of surprise torn from her throat, and suddenly he had her undivided attention.

"So, now that I clearly have your undivided attention, we come back to my question. Do you have a _safe_ place to stay?"

Oh, now she wanted to tell the truth. Ryan tugged at her captured foot again and he raised an eyebrow in warning. She breathed in a quick breath when his finger moved an inch and she bit her lip to keep from giggling.

"I have a place to stay," she was quick to add on, "But I wouldn't deem it a family oriented place."

So, in not so many words, no it was not a place where a girl of 16 years should be living on her own.

"Yea, that's what I thought too, no, you'll stay here. There's another bedroom down the hall. A bathroom next to it on the right. You go take a shower and I'm gonna go make something to eat. Anything you're hankering for? Pasta? Pizza? Burgers and fries?"

Ryan wasn't sure what to do. She'd woken up this morning, procured herself some breakfast, and made out to carry on her days like she usually did.

And now she had met an Archangel.

She'd gotten to act like a kid again.

Cried her freaking heart out.

And now she was was being given a home again. It was almost surreal. Like it was all a big dream that she was going to wake up from at the screaming of her semi-crazy 'neighbor'. She was torn from her thoughts and reverie, giggles escaping her, when he poked playfully at her belly again.

Gabriel smiled down at her, "Hey? You with me? Go take a shower stinky then come down stairs for some grub."

"I don't have any other clothes."

It was true, well, somewhat, she had another shirt. Too big for her and a showing signs of extreme wear and tear. More like a giant rag dress then anything at this point, but anything was better then nothing. She had these skinny jeans she was wearing that she'd knicked off a Goodwill bin, dark, holed and frayed, old and faded. Her t-shirt with a faded yellow smiley face on it, gray in color, and red around what was left of the collar. Her hooded zip up sweatshirt and a jean jacket that had been discarded with her faded muddy black and red converse high tops.

Nothing more then that maybe except for the worn faded army green canvas rucksack that had been dropped beside her sneakers.

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at her in what he decided was the worst excuse to avoid showering in the existence of excuses.

" _Hello,_ Archangel? Trust me when I say making sure you got clean clothes to put on after showering is well within the spectrum of my abilities."

Seeing no other arguement she could make at this point she conceded and nodded. He pat her head in something akin to fondness.

"Then get to it girl. You're feet stink. I'm gonna have to wash my hands now cause they smell like foot."

He nudged her off his bed and she stumbled slightly as she jumped to her feet, his hands caught her around the shoulders to keep her from falling over.

"Easy wild child, my bathroom is nice but it's nothing to fall head over heels for."

He got a smile for his semi-poor joke.

...

The house smelled like an italian resturaunt when Ryan got out of the shower, there was a freshly laid towel on a rack waiting for her and a folded pile of clothes on the sink counter. It felt weird to know that the man, claiming Archangel (though that was a strong statement seeing as she had seen wings) had come into the bathroom while she was in the shower completely in the nude.

But her assumptions were vanished when her diliberately placed pile of dirty clothes in front of the closed bathroom door were unbothered, her rucksack still leaning against the doorframe in the specific way she'd placed it.

She dressed into the new t-shirt, amber red with the picture of a puppy on it, and new jeans, fresh and crisp but still as dark as her original pair of skinny jeans. There was another hooded zip up jacket hanging on the hook of the door. She last put on the new pair of warm socks that had been originally placed on the folded jeans and t-shirt.

Her sneakers were mysteriously missing though and she assumed they had been left in his bedroom.

Ryan scooped up her dirty clothes and stuffed them in her bag of 'supplies' and finally made her way down stairs following the scent of the good food to the kitchen. The table was set, plates and drinks and silverware, there was a salad in the center and a basket of breadsticks next to it.

"Since you didn't give me any hints as to what you wanted I went with pasta."

Gabriel hip bumped her as he walked by to set a bowl of pasta on the table beside the breadsticks and salad, and she side stumbled with another soft giggle as he did, "Sit on down squirt, dig in, we gotta get some meat on those bones."

The night came to an end with them both in the living room watching some cheap b-grade movie on the tube, when Gabriel turned to check on the teenage girl, he smiled slightly at the sight of her sleeping curled against the arm of the couch.

Ryan had curled up, her legs under her, arms curled under her head on the arm of the couch and at some point through the movie she had fallen asleep. He heaved a sigh and gave it a few more minutes to make sure that she was actually out for the night and heaved himself up in one go.

Careful, as to not disturb her, he gently slid his arms under her knees and turned her around, lifting her from the corner of the couch. She instinctively curled into him, an arm curling around his shoulders, her cheek pressing into his shoulder. It was not an action he expected from her and he froze just a moment in a sort of shock. The moment quickly passed and the Archangel smiled slightly to himself.

Slowly he carried her up the stairs and to the bedroom next to the bathroom and right down the hall from his on master bedroom, and set her on the bed with a sort of ease that spoke volumes of his true strength.

Ryan curled into the pillow under her, arm tucking under her head again, and he pulled the blankets up around her.

He'd stay for a while.

And give that man in Japan koro next week.

Maybe even take her along with him, it would be nice to have a partner, besides maybe he sort of kind of had an inkling of fondness for the spunky kid.

 _Eh_ , they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

...

And it wasn't until a certain pair of Winchesters and their pet, ahem, _friend_ angel came poking around that he really got involved again. Ryan had decided to stay in the city he'd found her in, his safe house as her new home, something he couldn't blame her for as it was her home and though he kept moving around he still kept a close eye on the kid who'd wormed her way into his grace.

Diverting possible ill-mannered persons from her path and making sure she was safe despite his physical absence.

She managed, in her opinion, to give them the slip and make her way back to the house when they'd just appeared. Like Gabriel did when he visited, the trench coated angel who went by Cassarole... _'No that doesn't sound right', her mind supplied,_ Castiel, the trench coated angel who went by Castiel holding her in place to make her escape again with what she assumed was his jedi forcey magic-y stuff.

 _'Grace kid, it's called grace', a voice supplied in her mind that sounded like Gabriel, that she told to shut up, and swears heard it chuckle back at her._

No where to go and no way to move she did the very next thing that came to mind.

 _ **"GABRIEL!"**_

She smirked at them when a bright golden light filled the room, unnoticed to the outside world, and the foundation began to shake.

"Boys? _Boys?_ Breaking into my house is pretty idiotic, but going after my charge is downright _suicidal_ wouldn't you agree?"

His grace, stronger in every way compared to Cassarole, _Castiel_ , overpowered the hold the other angel had on her and Ryan was still smirking as she moved slightly to lean into the brunette Archangel's side and his arm curled around her shoulders.

"And here I expected _more_. At least from Cas. He'd recognize my mark anywhere. And you've done frightened my charge here. I'm _not_ happy about this guys."

And for the first time in his life, as far back as he can remember, Castiel _gulped_.


	2. Chapter 2

Ryan sniffled, padding up the stairs in her too big socks and extra baggy sweatshirt, rubbing her nose with the gathered fist full of sleeve in her hand. She had been here a little over a year now, and had you told her that she would be taken from her little place down with the other homeless screw ups and free loaders and given her own place to live in, a real roof and a real bed with new clothes and wholesome food, she would have punched you in the face for being a liar.

Her new friend had left her the home, always paid for and extra money to spend if she wanted it, food always stocked and bills always paid in full for the month.

Gabriel stopped by every week like clock work, every friday and he stayed the weekend, to check in on her and the wards of protection he said he had placed around the grounds.

There had been a short list of rules that had been left for her as well, inside by the time the street lights came on, bed by midnight, school everyday with no bad reports or grades, and to stay out of the master bedroom.

Ryan had learned that though he wasn't there he could still enforce his rules just as he wanted to, she had come home late one night to find a note on the fridge and her phone gone, she hadn't gotten it back until a week later.

They got along great, as best friends do, he was one of her only closest friends. Gabriel was her confident, and always came when she called for him, he knew how to cheer her up when she had a bad day at school and how to make her laugh again.

He made her feel safe.

Ryan sniffled again and came to a stop before the door she was told to not go passed without Gabriel here too, she wasn't sure why she wasn't allowed in the master bedroom, her mind came up with any and all possibilities.

Maybe he kept an arsenal in there.

Or he did his Archangel of Justice duties in there (thats right she did her research) and didn't want her to see.

She imagined something bloody and horrid, something not appropriate for her to see, a sight that would give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

"Gabe?...", she knocked on the door softly and leaned in close to listen for a response but got none. He wasn't in there. He wouldn't be. It was Wednesday. Not Friday. She wished it was Friday.

Ryan sniffled again and coughed into her closed fist, rubbing at her nose softly, she looked to the side, the other side behind her, and reached for the door handle. It was warm in her palm but not abnormally so. She turned it softly and pushed the door open.

The room was empty.

There was no blood, no bodies, no anything out of the ordinary. It was a normal made up bedroom. The bed was made nicely just the same as it had been when he'd left it. She peeked into the room and looked around waiting for someone to jump out at her.

When nothing did come at her she took a step inside, the carpet was soft under her feet, the room itself was warm, comforting, and felt more like Gabriel then any other part of the house did.

She crossed into the room and pulled at the soft blankets on the bed, tugging them down, and crawled inside. Ryan cuddled down into the pillow and pulled the blankets up over her head and curled into a ball.

...

Ryan woke to the feeling of someone running their fingers through her hair, she knew who it was almost instantly, there was only one whom she allowed to run their fingers through her hair. She curled into his side.

"Sweety why didn't you call for me?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you."

The hand paused for a second, "That's crazy talk and you know it.", then the moment passed and it began anew again, "You're my littlest charge kiddo, you could never be an interruption."

She whined, not wanting to be scolded at the moment, and tried to pull the blankets back up over her head. There was soft chuckle above her and his hand moved, tugging the blanket back down again.

"Let me see you sweet heart."

Gabriel's eyes were soft when she turned around to look up at him. He smiled down at her fondly and brushed her hair out of her flushed face.

"You don't feel good, do you?"

Ryan sniffled and coughed and shook her head. Gabriel hummed and pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, then his palms to her cheeks, she leaned into his touch as it felt cooler then she did at the moment.

"You've got a fever little one."

He rubbed her cheek with his thumb, "I think you caught the flu kiddo, I've heard its been going around your school, and it looks like it's finally made its way home."

She looked at him in surprise and he chuckled again.

"Of course I get notifications from your school, like that day you skipped your history class, but seeing as you don't feel well we'll let it go. This once. So don't do it again."

Ryan nodded slowly and looked up at him and he smiled, brushing his thumb over her chin playfully, he was really fond of her. He pulled the blankets back up and tucked them around her.

"You stay in bed. I'm going to go make you some soup and tea. I'll be right back."

She nodded again and cuddled down in the pillow again. Gabriel pet her hair one last time and climbed off the bed. She could hear him down it the kitchen doing what he said he was going to do, hear the pot moving over the stove and the whistling of the kettle.

Ryan grimaced and rubbed at her stomach, "Gabe..."

"I'm right here sweet heart, right here."

Well, that didn't take long, he set the bowl and mug down on the nightstand next to his bed and sat next to her again.

"Does your belly hurt?"

She nodded and moved up to lay her head into his lap, he always made her feel better, without fail, "And my throat...make it stop Gabe!"

"I would kiddo, I would, but it's gotta run it's course. Here try some soup."

Ryan shook her head and turned away from it, the mere thought of food making her mouth taste nasty, "No. Don't wanna eat anything."

"I know kiddo. I know. Just the broth. Just try the broth. A sip."

She didn't want to but she knew it would make him happy. So she did. A sip, a small one, and then another and another. Gabriel rubbed her back softly when she laid back down again.

"Sorry I came into your room."

"Don't be little one, you should be sorry for not calling when you started feeling bad", he set the bowl aside and leaned back into the pillows, "Come here kiddo."

Ryan crawled up next to him and cuddled close into his side, feeling his arm wrapping down around her and pull her close too, it felt nice to be close to someone when she felt so bad.

"You should count your blessings its me and not my brother, now he can be a smother hen when he wants to be", he rubbed her back softly, "Don't worry though. I can too."

She smiled softly and slowly closed her eyes, nuzzling in closer, enjoying being so close to her best friend and having him there to take care of her especially since she felt so bad.

"Go to sleep kiddo, I'll still be here when you wake up", He pressed his hand to the back of her head tenderly and tugged the blankets up over her even more, "Get some rest sweetie, it'll help you feel better."


End file.
